Metro

NYPD report analyzes Newtown massacre, other active shooter incidents

Building security checks, evacuation drills and access systems could diminish the risk of an active shooter attack such as last week’s Newtown, Conn. school massacre, according to an NYPD report.

“Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk Mitigation” was updated to include the Dec. 14 school rampage, in which shooter Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself.

The report analyzes 230 different active shooter incidents, dynamic crime scenes involving a randomly-firing shooter in a confined, populated area.

Of those incidents, 24 percent involved a school.

Adam Lanza’s attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School was classified as “academic” in nature because the shooter once attended the school.

After murdering his mother, Nancy, at their home, Lanza gathered four guns and drove to the school. He broke in through the front door. School principal Dawn Hochsprung lunged at Lanza, trying to stop him.

She and 25 others – mostly children – were gunned down before Lanza took his own life.

The school had worked to implement safety measures at the beginning of the current school year, including a new security system for the school’s front entrance, according to reports.

The NYPD’s report includes procedural, system and training recommendations – including identifying evacuation routes and designating shelter locations. Officials also urge organizations and schools to incorporate an active shooter drill into emergency preparedness procedures.

Credential-based access control systems and closed-circuit TV systems are also recommended.

If an active shooter event transpires, building occupants should evacuate only if it’s safe, avoiding elevators or escalators; hide in a secure area; and try to disrupt the gunman only if no other options remain.

The report was issued by the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau.

Active Shooter 2012 Edition